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Hood County Sheriff Recalls Tornado Outbreak

GRANBURY (CBSDFW.COM) – It was one year ago that a deadly tornado outbreak slammed several North Texas cities. The hardest hit area was Granbury, where winds were estimated to be 180 mph. Six people died when a twister ripped through neighborhoods and caused significant damage.

The National Weather Service recorded 19 tornadoes during the outbreak.

Emergency workers in Granbury, including Hood County Sheriff Roger Deeds, said that it was a day that they will never forget.

It was a chaotic scene. Lives were on the line. And yet, when Deeds and other emergency workers arrived at ground zero in Granbury, time stood still. “It seemed like it was forever that the first responders were coming in here,” Deeds remembered, “working and trying to get in to make sure we had everybody evacuated, checking for injuries, helping the people that were injured, helping the people to just get out of the subdivision.”

Deeds added, “It looked like a war zone.”

The roads were impassable, Deeds recalled. Heavy equipment had to be brought in just to clear a pathway. Workers were traveling through all of the debris to search for people who had not yet evaucated. The area was leveled.

Parts of Granbury still bear the scars from that day. But there are signs of rebuilding too. “It’s come a long, long ways, “said Deeds. “Some people are getting back to normal and some are still getting started. So, we’ve got a ways to go.”

Even when they’re not at ground zero in Granbury, Deeds said that he and other first responders still think about that day, every day since. “We all do,” he said.

Joel is an Emmy Award winning journalist with more than 15 years of television experience. He earned his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism with a minor in political science. He enjoyed writing at an early age, and by junior high sc...